Starry Eyed
by SapphireOcean
Summary: Signing up for the First Kiss project turns out to be a great idea. [Promptember #15, final. Complete.]
For my final Promptember fic, which I barely finished before the 31st ended, I decided to indulge myself with more of my personal crackship, Gouldiplier. Yep, more Mark/Ellie. I warned you ;) (See Promptember #12 for an explanation if you care) A "normal" AU, where neither of them are famous for reasons only I care about.

The prompt: AU where Person A and Person B first meet during a First Kiss experiment, where they're asked to kiss a complete stranger. After their kiss, A hands B their phone number.

* * *

"Hey."

 _All right. This is really going to happen._

"Hi." _My word, he's terribly handsome. Not much taller than me, either. Glad I'm not wearing heels._

"So what do we, um…"

"I guess we should introduce ourselves, yeah?" After the split-second catalogue of my, er, partner's outfit– blue plaid shirt, jeans, black watch– his devastating good looks made it hard to keep my eyes on him, so I looked at the director as I asked him this. I felt jittery all over, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Instead, I fidgeted; with my necklace, the hem of my top, the buttons on my denim jacket.

"Oh, of course. Let me try this again. Hello, my name's Mark. What's your name?" I forced myself to look at him while he spoke, then dropped my gaze to the safe zone of his hand when he held it out.

"Ellie," I mumbled, fumbling to shake his hand. "You have nice hands. Oh god I didn't mean to actually say that." I laughed before I could stop, half-mortified, half giddy. "I'm so nervous…"

"No, it's fine. Thank you." His voice drew my gaze back to his face. He was smiling and suddenly I didn't mind looking at him. "You have a nice laugh." His smile widened, and he put a hand behind his neck, absently rubbing. "And nice hair."

"Ah, thanks." Automatically I ran a hand through my hair, face tingling, pausing halfway through to glance at the director. "Uh, do we just…?"

She gave a quick smile. "Whenever you want. No hurry."

"So!" Mark's change in volume made me jump; I hoped he hadn't noticed. "You're from England, huh? Haven't met many people 'across the pond'," he said with air quotes, chuckling quietly.

"Where are you from?"

"Ohio." He shrugged. "You know, one of the boring states." Then he winked.

My heart jolted a smile out of me. "I wouldn't know which states are boring. But I do know that _you_ are most definitely not boring."

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck again. "Damn. And I was trying so hard."

"Wh– Why would you want to be boring?" Giggles were percolating in my chest; I forced them down.

"Well, I figured if I were boring enough that I wouldn't actually have to go through with this?" Another smile, shaky. "Cold feet, I guess. Which is silly because it's supposed to be fun, but…" He took a step closer, putting a hand out; it hovered next to my shoulder. It was a small step, I realized as I stared at his hand. When had we gotten closer?

I leaned just a bit to the side, easing my shoulder against his fingers."Why'd you stop talking?" I said quietly, slowly bringing my left hand up to rest on his torso. "I… I really like your voice."

"What was I talking about?"

"Cold feet."

"Right… I don't have those anymore. Not with you."

"Me neither."

We were whispering now. Both my hands had migrated to his back, sliding up toward his shoulders. I pulled in a breath at the sudden heat at the back of my neck– his hand, fingers stroking lightly.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said, as he bent down just a bit, forehead brushing mine.

He had beautiful eyes too, dark, warm brown. I wanted to say something back, to stay in the _before_ a little longer, but I could no longer think. So I kissed him.

His hand tightened behind my neck, pulling me closer. I spread my hands into the softness of his shirt and leaned against him. He pulled back only to meet my lips again, and again, and…

I giggled, looped my arms around his neck, and pressed my mouth firmly against his. I thought I felt him sigh. I _knew_ I felt his mouth open, his tongue touch my lips, and I knew I wanted to let him in.

He moaned softly, briefly. My arms tightened around him, and I sighed into his mouth when his hands covered my shoulder blades…

When we pulled away for the last time, he swiftly leaned in and licked my lips. All the laughter I'd been holding in spilled out, leaving me clinging to him, laughing into his shirt while his hands lingered on my back.

"Got a little carried away," he murmured when I'd collected myself, a crooked smile on his shiny lips.

"Oh no, I got lip gloss all over you!" A few more giggles slipped out. I reached up to wipe it away, but he kissed my fingers instead.

I hid my burning face in his shirt again. His hands slid up and down my back.

"That was… really something." The smile was in his voice.

"…Mm." Finally I detached myself from him, turning toward the camera. But he pulled me to his side, patting my shoulder.

"I think I like lip gloss."

I stifled a snort.

"And cut!" The director shut off the camera and applauded. "Great job, guys."

Handshakes all around, then we retrieved our belongings and left the room. In the hall, Mark and I gazed at each other again.

"I was wondering," he began.

"Could I have your number?" I said at the same time, then put a hand over my mouth. "Er, I mean…"

He grinned, eyes lighting up. "I was wondering if I could give it to you."

"Y-Yeah, of course!" I got my phone out of my purse while he pulled his from a back pocket. My hands were shaking. I wondered if his were.

Numbers exchanged, we went back to staring. Eventually I said, "It was really, really nice to meet you."

He nodded solemnly. "An interesting experience."

"Well, I'll be seeing you, yeah?" I swallowed a smile. "I ought to go, before–"

"Before we spend the rest of the day making out? Yes, me too." He chuckled, one hand going to the back of his neck.

We made our way out of the building and stood blinking in the afternoon sun.

"See you around," he said. "Sooner than later, I hope."

Impulsively, I hugged him. "Yes. We'll get a coffee. Or something."

"Or something sounds just fine to me."

I headed off down the sidewalk, fighting the urge to jump about, to do cartwheels, to squeal like a child. When I looked behind me, I saw him waving as he walked away.

I waved back until he disappeared around the corner. Then I pulled out my phone, brought up his number, and started typing.


End file.
